Gelli Haha is Prepared for Takeoff
Welcome to the Gelliverse.
I haven’t been this electrified by an artist in a long time. Gelli Haha—the new project of L.A.-based Angel Abaya—has pulled me in hard.
Her debut album Switcheroo dropped last June, and almost immediately, Gelli became a bit of a Pitchfork darling. Playful, erratic, dancey—the music is its own kind of high. What really has me obsessed, though, is the world she’s built around it: the Gelliverse. Think Pee-wee’s Playhouse meets Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans. Or, as Gelli puts it, “somewhere between Studio 54 and Area 51.”
The Gelliverse began as an impressively monochrome world of red, punctuated by flashes of yellow, but has since blown open into a full-spectrum fantasy with her new single, Klouds Will Carry Me To Sleep. Released just last Friday, the video feels like The Magic School Bus on acid—meant as the highest compliment.
I’ve had Switcheroo on loop for the past year, so calling a new favorite feels strange—but this new single is making a strong case. (This is also the same album that gave us “Piss Artist,” a song about peeing in a jar at a house party.) Other personal favorites include “Bounce House” and “Dynamite.” Truly, there are no skips.
If you get the chance, go see her live. I’ve caught two shows already, and she runs the full album top to bottom, flanked by her two dancers—two “Gellis.” It’s tight, weird, surprising, and genuinely a party.
You’ve described Gelli Haha as somewhere between Studio 54 and Area 51. What parts of each world made their way into the project?
I love strange art parties like Studio 54. And that era of music and style is iconic and very influential to me. And I love the mystery of Area 51. The whole Gelli Kompany is from outer space, in the Gelliverse, and every planet is like a different art party. Gelli Haha is a glamorous weirdo alien transmission disguised as a DIY pop show.
Is there a moment on the album (Switcheroo) where you feel like listeners fully enter the Gelliverse?
“Spit” is the second track on the record. It’s a hypnotic bass-heavy dance track. When we play it live, it feels like I’m casting a spell on the entire audience, and by the end of the song we’ve fully blasted off to the Gelliverse and have transformed into a giant parachute monster.
Gelli Haha is such a fully realized universe—musically and visually. What has collaborating on it been like, and what do the people around you bring that helps expand the vision?
I love collaborating. I love making art with people. Collaboration has always been an important part of creating for me. I love the Gelli Kompany, we love each other, and we support each other as humans and artists. Everyone brings their own special, unique perspective to the project and shares their gifts with us, whether that’s performing, designing, directing, writing - we do it all together.
When you’re building the Gelli World, how do you know when an idea belongs in the Gelliverse and when it doesn’t?
Gut feeling. My brain categorizes things like, Gelli / Not Gelli, all day every day. Sometimes there’s Maybe Gelli things and it can take some testing out. We’re not always getting it perfect, we’re just always trying things on and staying curious, but of course there’s a groundedness to it all as well which helps keep it focused.
I love that at a Switcheroo show the album runs start to finish—no breaks. The room turns sparkly and bright—balloons everywhere, people jumping, everyone smiling like they don’t want the party to end. When you look out and see that, what does it feel like?
It feels like we’re exactly where we’re supposed to be, that we are all connected and on the same wavelength and get to share this jubilant little moment together <3
Do you ever feel like you’re observing your own life a little bit like an alien?
100%. I’m an Aquarius moon (and Mercury in Virgo), so I’m always poking and prodding at my soul, experimenting, questioning, thinking thinking thinking.
What expression do you make when you’re alone and an idea suddenly arrives?
My eyes probably bulge a little bit.
Did you really pee in a jar? :)
Yessss I did!! I was at a party, I was 20 years old, and it seemed appropriate. And yes I did convince all my friends to take their shirts off, for like a majority of the night.
Shot at Idaho Film Society in Boise, ID
One Hour Photo Creative Production: Carly Kane
Special thanks to Selby Jenkins ❤️
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